MSPeconomist

metallo

Might hurt the bottom line.

The thought of having to fly UA prevents most of us from being AA website weirdos, though.

Antarius

Attitudes like this are a perfect example of how the few ruin things for the rest of us.

travelinmanS

MarkOK

That sounds like University accounting procedures -- Reimbursements for travel typically take 2-5 months to get fully approved and processed (not just at the university I am at now, but nearly all universities). Anyways, I've never heard of this credit card either, but it seems like AA's equivalence of what 'CareCredit' is for medical expenses -- a way to get a 0% rate on a purchase as long as you pay in full by a certain time, otherwise you get sucker punched with a usurious interest rate that gets applied and backdated to the entire credit period. I used CareCredit (successfully, with regards to avoiding the interest hit) back in my younger poorer days when I needed a medical procedure that was quite costly compared to my income at the time (before I had an HSA to pay for such things, and the expense still could only barely touch my high deductible -- but that's for an OMNI thread). The FlyNow/PayLater looks very much like it is targeted for similar demographics (little/no credit; geared for that consumer that needs/wants to make a one time airline purchase that is expensive compared to income and thus needs to pay it off over time); i.e. not typically a FT poster! These cards get hairy when you make multiple purchases on them, usually nullifying a significant part of the zero percent if you pay it off in time benefit (read the fine details on how payments get credited when you have one or more deferred interest purchases and/or other non deferred interest purchases). So, I get that someone may have a regular card that is expired that they accidentally used a couple times (though after a couple times of having to call to complete a transaction, even a sane stressed busy person would probably go in and delete it off their profile). But an odd 'fly now/pay later' card? For a decently frequent flyer? After so many times having to call to pay by another means? Maybe the OP is a financial and personal mess (must be both). Or, maybe, there is something more to it.

nk15

I don't think this is correct, the fare locks in at the time of booking, and then he paid it. If the OP has indeed paid for all the tickets, as he claims, and never cancelled even one, then I don't see how AA has any damages or a claim here, and they should not confiscate his miles.

GUWonder

nk15

joe_miami

Not at all the same thing, though (as you said). These bookings expire quickly on their own and are clearly an attempt on AA's part to accommodate people who lose their internet connection, etc., during the booking process. I believe UA does the same.

rumboj

Dr. HFH

However, as has been pointed out upthread, that's not what AA alleged.Those are two very different things. AA security accused you of doing ABC. Your response was that you didn't do XYZ. That would make me suspicious. This is not a situation in which you want to play at semantics. "It depends upon what the meaning of the word is, is."


But if you didn't do it intentionally, how can you guarantee that it won't happen again? And if you did do it intentionally....


As you can see, I was wondering the same thing. My feeling after reading OP's posts is that there's some dancing around the facts going on.


I agree. Seems very straightforward to me.


I'm trying to imagine how this came about. When I make a payment on either my AMEX or Citibank cards (the only credit cards I have), the payment is posted within seconds.


You do understand that notarization simply ensures that you were the one who actually signed the affidavit, right? It's identity verification, nothing more.


You already promised to follow the rules when you enrolled in AAdvantage. Additionally, an affidavit is only relevant to things that have already occurred. An affidavit which purports to promise something for the future is illogical and meaningless.


What bank is handling this card? As above, my payments clear immediately.


I understand that this must be very distressing to you, OP; however, after reading and rereading everything that you wrote, I am left with the feeling that there's more to the story. Possibly AA was left with the same feeling.

FlyerTalkUserName

USA_flyer

Fascinating thread. I hope the OP let's us all know how this pans out.

Often1

AA's general policy seems to be quite customer-friendly, so I am not sure why there are those supporting the use of invalid cards.

It would be simple for AA to program its system such that the use of a card with insufficient credit available would cause the reservation to cancel immediately. But, I presume that the vast majority of instances where an invalid card is used are situations where the customer has made a simple error and corrects it relatively immediately. Honoring the price at the time of the original booking seems to be good for all.

However, it appears that there are a small number of people who see this as a loophole and exploit it to effectively create long-term holds. AA has made a perfectly reasonable decision to "fire" those customers or at least to discourage them from future patronage. Bottom line is that AA is encouraging OP to walk away. It hasn't banned him, so he may purchase new tickets if he wishes.

DataPlumber